Shamefully, I’ve gone my whole life without actually seeing John Carpenter’s first feature film, DARK STAR. That will likely change in October, as the low-budget sci-fi romp is getting a Blu-ray release in the U.S. via VCI Entertainment. (The film is already available in the format overseas…)
Co-written by the great Dan O’Bannon (ALIEN), DARK STAR’s synopsis goes like this: In the mid twenty-first century, mankind has reached a point in its technological advances to enable colonization of the far reaches of the universe. DARK STAR is a futuristic scout ship traveling far in advance of colony ships. Armed with Exponential Thermosteller Bombs, it prowls the darkest reaches of space on a mission to seek out and destroy unstable planets ahead of the colonist. But there is one obstacle that its crew members did not count on — one of the ship’s thinking and talking bombs is lodged in the bay, threatening to destroy the entire ship and crew!
Special features (which are basically the same as a previous DVD edition) include:
– “Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star” – Includes clips from a rare student film directed by Dan O’Bannon. Featuring exclusive interviews with actors, cast and crew. Also featuring an archival interview with John Carpenter, as well as the final interview of Dan O’Bannon. Produced and directed by Daniel Griffith (in HD).
– Interview with Sci-Fi author Alan Dean Foster (in SD).
– 3D Guide to the Dark Star ship (in SD).
– Full-length audio commentary by super fan Andrew Gilchrist.
Unfortunately, DARK STAR: THERMOSTELLAR EDITION can’t be pre-ordered yet, but we’ll send ya an update when it is! It hits the streets on OCTOBER 2nd.